Blue White Illustrated

On-field success will help determine extent of upgrades supposed to be. And the private suites on the east side had to face similar "val- ue engineering" decisions in space allo- cation and elevator size. No athletic facility fits the "be careful what you wish for" maxim better than the Bryce Jordan Center. Known to all as the BJC, the facility has served for the past two decades as the home of the men's and women's basketball programs. Prior to the BJC's opening, Rec Hall had been Penn State's winter sports hub. In the decades that followed its opening in 1929, Rec Hall housed many of the university's varsity teams, even the out- door teams that played at nearby Beaver Field, with locker rooms and office space for athletic department adminis- trators and coaching staffs. Despite the construction of other facilities else- where on campus, including Beaver Sta- dium in 1960 and the East Area Locker Room a few years later and occasional Rec Hall renovations, the building began running out of office and storage space as staffs increased. A major addition in 1964 at the back of the original building boosted seating and standing-room ca- pacity in the main gym from 5,000 to about 8,000, but that number has been reduced since then, primarily because of fire regulations. University administrators began talk- ing in the mid-1980s about a convoca- tion center with a new basketball court. Once Penn State was accepted into the Big Ten Conference in 1990, a larger in- door complex was a necessity. Rather than construct a new building strictly for athletics, university officials wanted a multipurpose structure that would also serve the community and produce income. As Penn State president Joab Thomas explained, the new build- ing would "address the inadequacies of current University facilities for academic convocations, cultural events, athletic events, conventions, concerts, alumni functions and other such events." There was more to it than that. At an estimated cost of $55 million, and with the self-imposed pressure to be compet- itive in the Big Ten, university officials didn't have the time for a fundraising drive to obtain that much money in do- nations. So they went to the Pennsylva- nia Legislature and met all the require- ments to receive a $33 million allocation. Not wanting the athletic department to be burdened with such a debt service, T he oldest and newest of Penn State's varsity athletic facilities are the home bases for five of the Nittany Lions' most successful teams of recent years. Four of those teams play in Rec Hall, which has been renovated and expanded a few times since it opened in 1929, and the combined 15 national championship banners of wrestling, women's and men's volleyball and men's gymnastics since 1999 are displayed prominently from the rafters in the main gymnasium. Across campus, the 3-year-old state-of- the-art Pegula Arena features a men's ice hockey team that in only four years as a varsity sport has become one the best in the NCAA. Winning, good coaching and superior student-athletes will do that. This is not meant to demean the coaching of Penn State's other varsity sports. Several other teams also have been successful in the Big Ten and post- season tournaments, with women's soc- cer winning its first NCAA title this past season and fencing continuing to win or contend annually for the national cham- pionship. However, as we all know, it's the revenue-producing sports – football and men's basketball – that drive the athletic program, not just at Penn State but throughout the country. The football team has had its ups and downs since 1999, and the men's bas- ketball team has had limited success. Yes, the Sandusky scandal and its ram- ifications have continued to haunt the entire athletic program. Add in the seemingly sudden increase nationwide in coaches' salaries and the competi- tive need for the upgrading of facilities – often ostentatious and self-aggran- dizing – and you have a highly pres- sured environment that places money and winning first and everything else last. Athletic director Sandy Barbour says every facility is in the mix in the master plan. That might mean tweaking some things at Pegula and the Lubrano Park baseball stadium that opened in 2006. It might also mean overhauling or replac- ing McCoy Natatorium, the home for swimming and diving since 1969. De- spite some remodeling in 1988 and 2004, the natatorium is woefully inade- quate in today's competitive atmos- phere. And most certainly, the women's and men's soccer teams deserve to have the 34-year-old Jeffrey Field refur- bished with locker rooms, an equipment room, team lounge and public bath- rooms for the increasing number of fans who turn out for their games. There will be only so much money available for all the facilities, and that is one reason, besides tradition, that there has been so much controversy over re- placing or renovating venerable Beaver Stadium. There is a not-so-easy solu- tion to it all: winning. Especially in the two prime sports that almost always show a hefty profit these days, football and basketball. Winning can also help some of the so-called Olympic sports generate more income for support, al- lowing the football and basketball rev- enue to be utilized by the less-fortunate varsity sports. The immortal football coach Vince Lombardi is famous for saying, "Win- ning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Unfortunately, that seems truer today than ever. Now, we shall see if Penn State can still win and live up to its virtuous motto: "Success with honor." – L.P.

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